Heart Led Astray
by a u c o xx
Summary: A curse had been set upon the young Prince of Enchanted Dominion when he was still young, causing his heart to be promised to another when he turned sixteen. The question is, though: is it a blessing or a curse?  Terra/Ventus and others
1. p r o l o g u e

**Heart Led Astray :: PROLOGUE**

They were as different as night and day, but it was all a part of destiny.

Born to two kingdoms warring with each other, one born of darkness and another pure light; the two were never meant to come together. The first boy, born of darkness, was born to lead when his mother's tyrannical rule ended. Under his mother, Maleficent, he learned to do much more than simply form and morph the darkness. She taught him to control the darkness within himself and others and force the darkness upon others. He could corrupt their very beings and ruin their minds, making the darkness eat away at the light. He was born with a purpose—he would taint and infect the light within the prince of Enchanted Dominion.

The second boy was born of the light. No darkness could sully him, nor taint his loving soul. He was the son of King Philip and Queen Aurora, who gave birth to the prince during the second year of their ruling. He was a gifted child. Upon his birth he was given three gifts from the Good Fairies; the same fairies who had protected Aurora as she grew. The first gift was the gift of beauty. As he grew up, he would have hair of sunshine gold, and eyes that reflected the sky itself. The second gift was the gift of happiness. No matter how cruel the world was, the prince would be able to face the darkness and make it out in peace. Before the final gift was given, however, two figures appeared. An aging sorceress and her child walked down the aisle of the Palace of Light. Darkness followed at their heels, leaving a trail behind them.

"Once again, this family has forgotten to invite me to such a…" The crone looked about the room, taking in the sight of the hanging coat of arms, the votives illuminating every inch of the enormous hall, and then she looked to the Queen, "lovely occasion. Really now, your regal Highness," The words came out as bitter sweet, venom lying under each syllable, "I thought you would have learned by now."

"You weren't wanted before and you sure aren't wanted now!" Merryweather, the third fairy yelled out, moving to go at the dark sorceress. Her two sisters, Flora and Fauna, grabbed her, pulling her back and away from her own would-be impending doom. "Girls, you know as well as I do that—"

"We know, Merryweather, but now is not the time, nor place to fight with her." Flora tightened her grip on her sister's shoulder as if to emphasize her point.

"I apologize, your Dark Grace, but I did not think you would wish to come. I should have considered it more." Aurora almost sounded like she regretted the decision not to invite her. Her eyes focused on the ground. "I would have thought you would be against coming into the light-half of the kingdom. After all, the darkness is at a disadvantage here."

Maleficent snickered at the queen's response. It was illogical for her to have come to the one place where darkness had little to no power, but that was why she had brought the boy along. She gestured towards him with her withered hand, her cloak lifting with her arm. "But Aurora, how else would I have our children meet? After all, my child Terra shall play a large part in the life of your son, Ventus."

"Whatever do you mean? Ventus, our son, is of the Kingdom of Light. He will not be associating with the darkness, unless you have decided to agree to the peace treaty...?" King Phillip stood as he spoke, allowing his presence to be truly known. Taking a step forward as if to challenge Maleficent, he continued, "You will keep your son out of our lands. As your son, he is our enemy and shall be treated as such."

"My, how unwelcoming, _King_ Phillip, I would have thought you would embrace the poor boy. He has been forced into the darkness against his will, yet you judge him regardless. How cruel of you, _all-loving king_." The final words were hissed. Maleficent summoned her scepter and slammed it onto the marble floor. Darkness flowed around her and the boy beside her. It grew more and more, encompassing the majority of the room. "Listen well you fools, for this shall be my final curse upon you all! From here on, my son will be the one you fear. He shall control the darkness and he shall destroy the light you all find so _endearing_. It will not end there, though."

Her next words would be the ones that tied together the two prince's destinies. Had the curse never been uttered, the boys may never have met or cared about each other. Instead, it had done the exact opposite of what it was meant to do. The curse was spoken, though, and it was…

_Though just a babe he may be,_

_a pure light, as bright as the sun shines within._

_Upon his sixteenth birthday, these princes shall meet._

_Darkness will tempt light._

_The light will fade from this boy, and with it_

_the entire Kingdom of Light shall fall._

_From there, the Kingdom of Darkness shall rise._

_The Prince of Light shall lose his heart and fade away,_

_while the Prince of Darkness shall be all-powerful._

With her curse spoken, Maleficent faded away, her piercing laugh emanating throughout the hall. All the people looked to where she once stood, where only a small boy remained. They watched as the boy walked towards the cradle. As King Phillip sent forth guards to stop him, Terra forced them back, sending waves of darkness towards them. No matter who tried to stop him, they were all stopped by the young boy. As he came to the cradle, he looked towards Aurora. A small smirk came to his face. The Queen stared at him, but did not move to stop him as he peered into the cradle.

"Ventus, no… Ven, I'll see you soon, alright?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Terra had disappeared into the darkness, leaving everyone in shock and confusion.

As the darkness cleared from the room, everyone fell silent. They were all in a moment of thought. This had happened before; Maleficent had placed a curse upon the royal heir, everyone had been concerned, but in the end the three Good Fairies had saved the day, with the help of Prince Phillip. All eyes turned to Merryweather, the fairy who was once again left with the wish that could save their prince's lives.

"Oh dear… Merryweather, you know what to do." Flora said, wisdom in each of her words.

"Right." Merryweather waved her wand before beginning her spell.

_Our dear prince will not have his heart taken physically,_

_but his heart will be overcome by love._

_Through this love, he will overcome the darkness in the young Terra's heart._

_Then light shall return after a period of darkness._

"I apologize, Aurora, but it was the best I could do in this case. The heart cannot remain with our dear prince completely, but at least now he will not become a Heartless." Merryweather bowed her head in embarrassment, but the young Queen put her at ease when she drew the fairy into a friendly embrace.

"That you can do anything is a blessing. Thank you, Merryweather." Then the Queen went back to her child and rested her fair hand on his cheek, looking onto him with a look of empathy. Being that she had been forced to live with one of Maleficent's curses, she knew her son would struggle with it, but what could she do? What had been done to prevent what should have been a never ending sleep for her had failed, no matter how hard they all tried. "All we can do now is try to keep him safe."

As she gazed down at her son, her husband came to stand beside her. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close.

_Then the sixteen years passed…_

* * *

**And there is the prologue! It's short, but the chapters will be longer. This is just setting the stage, I assure you. ; w ;**

**I guess you could almost consider this story to be like a sequel to the Disney movie "Sleeping Beauty," just with a Kingdom Hearts twist. You'll be seeing other characters running around as well, but Terra and Ven are the mains.**

**I hope you look forward to this story. Please leave a review. They are my fuel. = w =**


	2. c h a p t e r  o n e

**c h a p t e r - o n e :: Darkness On Wind**

The smell of roasted meats and wine filled the main hall of the palace in Enchanted Dominion. Jesters enthused the masses of people who had come to the palace for the feast to come. Merriment was everywhere. It was not just within the confines of the palace, of course, but all through the streets as well. It was a holiday to be celebrated. It was the young prince's sixteenth birthday and his curse had not done him any damage. The King and Queen were speaking to their guests, paying no mind to where their son was or who was watching him. Sixteen or not, he was a prince with a curse that could very well be the end of him. There was only one person who knew the prince's whereabouts, and currently she was chasing him down in hopes of bringing him back to the party.

The prince was known for running off every now and again, hoping to find adventure throughout the kingdom that would one day be him own. His goal for that day was the small lake in the center of the enchanted forest. He'd told this to Aqua of course, who had adamantly refused to take him there, but even so he had run off. The young knight sighed. Keeping Ventus in one place for any prolonged time was usually an impossible task. She had only just reached the bridge in her haste to find him when someone took a firm hold of her wrist. A pair of golden eyes shone out from under a dark mask. The entire body was covered in armor- the armor of the Dark Army. Aqua recoiled and pulled herself away from the opposing knight.

"What are you doing in this place? Knights of Darkness have no right being here." In her hand a blade appeared and she took on a defensive stance. "Leave now, or I will be forced to fight you."

"Well isn't that just nice. It just so happens I came for a fight." The boy drew his blade as though he had not a care in the world, like this fight meant nothing. Aqua decided to make the first move. Lunging forward, she made to strike him, but he vanished just before she could. "You'll have to do better than that."

In a moment, Aqua felt the boy's blade come down on her back with great force. She gasped in pain, but sprung around in an instant to strike back. Once again her blade met nothing, but she was prepared. Moving from her previous position, she avoided the hit to come and shot out a blast of ice at the mysterious fighter. It connected. The boy shot backwards and gripped the side of his abdomen in pain. His discomfort was gone a moment later, however, and the two's blades clashed together. The boy's smirk could be seen in his eyes and it confused the Warrior of Light. Aqua pushed forward, trying to knock him back.

"You know, I'm just here to buy some time. Are you really too stupid to see that?" As he ended his sentence, darkness began to pour out of his hands. Aqua jumped back in a flash, avoiding the darkness that would try to poison her mind. "You may want to run off and find your little prince. By now, he will have met Terra."

That being said, the boy disappeared, dissolving into the darkness that surrounded him. Aqua paused for a moment, taking in what he had said and thinking on it. Terra… where had she heard that name before? Then it occurred to her. Terra was the prince of Maleficent's evil kingdom.

"Oh no, Ven!" Aqua ran off as quickly as she could, desperate to find the prince.

* * *

Ven's ankles were dipped into the cool water of the lake. Everything around him was absolutely beautiful. The green of the leaves made those in his home land pale in comparison. The lake was a stunning blue that reflected the light of the sun that snuck through the canopy of tree branches and leaves. Small birds sang songs as they flew every which way throughout the forest that surrounded him. He extended a finger and watched as a robin landed on his finger, chirping at him all the while as it left the flock it had been flying with. Ven moved his legs through the water excitedly, smiling at the tiny bird. He brought a finger up to stroke the feathers on the robin, listening to it happily chirp as he did so.

"Hey there, birdie, how's it going?" It replied excitedly as if to say 'I'm great!' "Well that's good, but you should fly off and catch up with your friends. I bet they're worried, since you just left them like that."

The bird left his finger as it was lifted into the air, as if to send the bird off. Ventus smiled at it as it's song began once again. The chorus of birds from before joined it, filling the forest with it's soothing sound. It was hard to think that the lake was a border between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. Everything was too beautiful. The lake had been where the first battle between the realms had taken place, where warriors clashed with each other and died. How the land could stand so lovely through that was a mystery to him. Then again, this was also the place where his mother and father had met each other. It was the place where they had danced to the melody of the birds and spent the day together in peace. It was beautiful, but it was a terrible sort of beauty. It was the type that hid many things behind such a lovely vista.

The prince lay back upon the plush grass, looking to the canopy above him. It was peaceful there. It felt as thought nothing in his life existed as he lay at the lake. The castle walls were no longer holding him in like a prisoner, he was not being followed around dutifully by Aqua, and his mother and father were not cooing over him. It felt like a hidden paradise. It remained in such a way until he heard the sound of footsteps drawing near, and in an instant he was upright. He threw on his shoes and unfolded his pants to cover his damp ankles. As he stood, he listened to hear where the sound was coming from. As if to spite him, the sound had left for the moment. He needed to find a path he could leave through, but if he didn't know where the apparent stranger was, he had no way of getting out without being seen. It could have been someone safe, of course, like his Knight and friend Aqua, but it also could have been someone who wished him harm.

Taking a leap of faith, Ventus ran towards the easiest path home. If the person was over there, it was possible that he could outrun them. As he made his way to leave, however, a hand he had not noticed took hold of his wrist. Blue eyes looked down to the hand, seeing sun kissed skin in contrast to his pale white skin. The prince whipped around and looked at the man who had a hold on him. Darkened eyes met his own, the man before him seemed to exude strength. It could have been the muscles that wrapped around his body that fit like a perfect glove, or his demeanor in general, but either way Ven was both enticed and frightened. If he had to struggle to get away, he knew he hardly had a chance of winning.

"You know, it's dangerous around here, you should go home." The man spoke, his voice deep and filled with a strange warmth. It sounded almost… caring. That was the only feeling Ventus could pull from it. "The Heartless are on their way here, let me escort you out of the forest."

"You don't have to do that. I'll be alright, really." Ven gave the man a gentle smile before drawing his wrist out of the man's grip. "I'm not helpless or anything."

"I see, alright then, will you at least tell me your name before you leave?"

"My name is…" Ventus knew he could not give his true name, for that could have led to problems later on. He scratched the back of his head during the awkward moment, wracking his mind for a suitable name. "It's Ven, just Ven."

"'Ven'…" Terra said the word, as if to feel how it felt on his tongue. "Odd, that name is close to a certain Prince of Light's name, isn't it?"

"I guess it is." The prince did not like the feeling he was getting from the man. He took a step back and gave him a strange look. "Sorry, but I really need to get going now. It'll be sundown soon and I want to make it back before this place is absolutely teeming with Heartless."

Without asking for the man's name, Ventus turned to leave the man. He needed to get home before sunset, if not to avoid the Heartless, than it was because the real celebrations would begin then. It was only when the town was in view that he could hear a chuckle whispered upon the wind and the feeling of darkness brushing against his skin like the gentlest breeze. Turning on his heels gradually, he looked back to the forest. Nothing could be seen, though, aside from enormous trees that stretched towards the sky. Even so, he could not shake the feeling that something was there. That it was watching him. Trailing him. It was not a Heartless, though, that much he knew for sure. The Heartless reeked of darkness. It was not an intoxicating smell, though, like that of a person who could control darkness. They lured people in with the promise of power and a charming smile that hid their devilish intentions. The Heartless, on the other hand, were creatures of that held no mind or will. They existed only to act as murderous pawns.

The Heartless were, in myth, the people from the Light which were drawn in by the Darkness and turned their backs on righteousness. In reality, though, they were the people who had lost their hearts to the darkness. Either they were stolen or they had been given willingly when power was promised.

Ven was forcefully spun around by someone's hand. Then he came face to face with his knight, Aqua, who he smiled at in relief. Even with the feeling of darkness nearby, he knew he was safe. Aqua could and would protect him. They could fight side by side and destroy whatever came to them.

"What took you so long to catch up? I've been there and back already." Ventus went to step past her. As quick as the lightening she could cast, Aqua took hold of the prince's shoulder and held him in place.

"Where have you been, Ven? You know how dangerous it is in the forest, especially at the Borderland!" Her glare was like ice. It froze him in place. "Not only are the Heartless out there, but there are people from the Land of Darkness. What were you thinking? Do you know how much trouble I will get in when the King and Queen find out about this?"

"Aqua… I had to see it at least once. It's not like anything happened. I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry." Ven's trademark smile was on his face in an instant as he reassured his friend.

"Perfectly fine? But that guy said- never mind, it's not important. You need to go home, Ven. I'll be back in a little while. I just need to check up on something first."

With those words, the two parted ways, Ven to the palace and Aqua into the forest and towards the Borderland. She needed to know if that masked boy had been lying to her. If Terra had been there, she would be able to tell in an instance. The Prince of Darkness held a distinct scent, after all. Perhaps Ventus had not noticed it, but she was trained to notice things like that. She'd make sure that damned prince had not come in contact with her best friend. It was her duty, after all.

* * *

The Grand Hall was full of people, from wall to wall. It was time for the final part of the celebration, where everyone was welcome to dance the night away as the band began to play. Food was laid out for the hungry. Ventus was seated beside his mother, the two of them smiling in joy at how well the event was going. He truly was his mother's son. Their similarities never seemed to end: they both had a smile made of sunshine and the heart filled with light and so much more. They both held glasses of wine in their hands, sipping on it slowly as if to savor the flavor of the fermented grapes. The prince had, for the most part, ignored the crowd of people around him. He was never one for large gatherings, no matter what the occasion was.

He did not even look into the crowd until his mother fell silent, her eyes locked on two men standing and staring at them. One of them had black spiked hair and eyes glowing gold, while the other looked familiar. It was the man from the forest earlier. 'Oh great, I am so dead now.'

"Good evening, gentlemen. How are you enjoying the festivities?" Aurora stood to greet the men, motioning for her son to join her. Even if her words were regal and sounded rehearsed, it was her smile that touched her eyes- eyes she shared with Ventus- that made people fall in love with her in an instant. "I do hope you are having a good time."

"Thank you, your majesty. This is quite the party you have here." The man from the forest bowed to them, a smirk present on his lips. "I must say, though, I didn't think I'd run into you so soon, Ven. Least of all at a place like this."

* * *

**And that's all she wrote for the first chapter~**

**I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this so far, and I'm glad that people have been reviewing. It's made me want to update quickly. ^ w ^**

**A bit of a cliff hanger ending, I apologize. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. More will be coming soon.**


	3. c h a p t e r t w o

**c h a p t e r - t w o :: Light and Dark Flavors**

Aurora looked between her son and the man that stood before them, a look of confusion on her face. How did her son know this man? Surely he was not a member of the Court, for then she would know him and recognize him. As Ventus was not allowed to leave the palace, for fear that his curse would come to light, he would not know anyone outside of the Court. She would slip her questions into their introduction, taking the information from him in a shifty way. It was never expected that Aurora could be underhanded, but even she had her moments. As a Queen, she had to know how to get information without being direct. She would never have been a good ruler otherwise.

"Are you a friend of my son? I have not met you before; it's a pleasure, sir… What is your name, dear? I don't think I know it." She gave him a warm smile and beckoned him closer to her.

"You could call us that, I guess. We met a long time ago, after all." The mysterious man smirked. Bowing his head, he took hold of the Queen's hand and placed the gentlest of kisses upon it. As he straightened himself, he continued, "My name is Terra, your Highness. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

"You…" In an instant her blood ran cold. Fear shone through in her blue eyes, a haze of emotions covering them. She whipped around to face her son and said, "Go up to your bed room Ventus and wait for Flora. Do as she says, okay?"

"Yeah, sure mom." Ventus stood to leave, casting only a parting glance to the man, Terra. Who was this man? It was obvious that his mother feared him and wanted them nowhere near each other, thus was why she was sending him away after all. With just that look of confusion, Ventus started towards the stairs and out of sight. With him out of the picture, Aurora beckoned her husband to come. They stood side-by-side and stared at the boys before them, Terra and the other, unnamed boy.

"Philip… he's Terra." The Queen whispered to her husband. She placed her face in the crook of his neck and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "He's come on Ven's sixteen birthday, and that can only mean he wishes to take him from us."

It was no use. The Queen was sobbing in the middle of the Grand Hall. For one reason or another, though, no one seemed to notice the small group. It was as if they were in their own small world.

"You are to leave this place at once. Aurora and I will not stand for this- you will not take our son from us." Their was an air of finality in his words, but they received only a laugh from the unnamed boy.

"You think we're just going to listen to you and this dumb bitch? Please, get over yourself. You may be King and Queen, but you're son is coming with us like it or not." As he said those words, the boy started to phase away into the darkness that encompassed his body. As soon as he was gone, Terra figured it was best to leave as well. They were both gone. When they were left alone, Aurora and Philip made a start for the stairs, breaking through the crowd as quickly as they could. They charged down the hallway and burst through the door at the end of the hall. The drawers to the dresser had been torn open and a few things were missing. Most importantly, though, a small crown had been thrown upon their son's bed. It was clear, their son had made his escape. For now he would be safe with three fairies who had been placed in charge of caring for him in a case such as this. They were not Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, as they had grown tired with age and never would have been able to keep up with their son. Instead, Flora had placed him in the care of their apprentices.

Ven had been taken to a small village in the forest he had always loved to escape to. This village, though, was one of the least likely places for him to have been taken to. The village consisted only of woman- female fairies, to be exact. The streets were paved in stone and a wall of trees surrounded the town, shielding it from view. Lovely gardens filled with flowers that could bloom even after the winter's first frost came through and without the summer's loving sunlight could be seen in front of every home. It was a beautiful place, filled with peace and prosperity. Money was not an object to the fae, who instead would barter for what they needed, using their plants and homespun garments. Ven could only look on in awe as they all went about using magic in their work. Magic was something that had always amazed him, but he only knew the basics of. Aqua had been the magic user; not him.

It was a week into his stay when he was finally put to use by his guardians. They were three kind women, with the names Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Each was more different the last. Yuna was a kind-hearted woman who was more interested in helping others than taking care of her own personal interests. Next was Rikku, the youngest of the three, who was filled with a never ending supply of energy. Finally, there was Paine, the stoic member of the trio—who referred to themselves at the Gullwings. They worked as forest guardians, ensuring that no one would find their town. It was their job to lure people away and to go elsewhere. Such a job could obviously not been done by Ventus, though—after all, they were supposed to be keeping him safe. Instead, they gave him the job of collecting fruit from the forest by the town entrance.

"Don't stray too far from the town. We can't have you attracting fiends and heartless to yourself." Paine warned him before sending him out, "You'll only be protected by the barrier if you're close to the town."

The prince had nodded before grabbing the basket by the door and running out to take care of his task. He'd been forced to stay indoors for seven days, and he was starting to get a bit stir crazy. The task had to be done by sundown, when his three guardians would be home, which gave him a bit of time to explore the town and surrounding area. First, though, he'd complete his task. As he walked through the town, Ven noticed a few people who had come in and out of the Gullwing's home. Each was given a wave and a smile as he passed them. Emma and Lucil, Cali and her mother, Lady Shelinda, and finally Lulu, who stopped him to ask where he was headed off to and to stay safe.

The forest had marked trails that led the blonde to a place to pick berries. The bushes were full of raspberries and blueberries, and each time Ventus pick one, another grew in it's place. The supply was never ending. Popping a raspberry into his mouth, he pressed it to the roof of his mouth with his tongue and mashed it, feeling the magic within the small berry seep onto his tongue. The taste was delightful. He had never tasted a fruit that was so sweet on his tongue. Sitting beside the bush, he ate his fill of the berries, never once noticing that the flavor had begun to change ever so slightly. It was no longer a berry grown by light, but rather it was tainted by the darkness itself. As he ate, he slowly grew more tired, until his head rest on the ground beside his basket of berries.

"Heh, that was way too easy." Vanitas stepped out from the shadows, looking down to the sleeping prince. He hovered above him, looking down at him with a look of disdain. The toe of his shoe nudged Ven's body, checking for any sign of conscious. He was out cold. A smirk came to Vanitas' lips as he moved to lift the Prince of Light, hauling him up onto his shoulder before carrying him off towards the Fae Villiage. When he came close, he took notice of wisps of light passing by him, floating on a gentle breeze. It was a fairy trick to distract people coming close to their village, to draw them away. Did they honestly think a trick like that was going to divert him? If he were not on a mission to gain his Queen's favor, he would have laughed outright, but for now he had to act as though he had not seen it or sensed it.

When the village was in sight, he allowed a fake smile to come to his face, soft and seemingly kind. The village elder was the first one to greet him, stepping forward to meet him. She motioned for some of the women to follow her and grab the prince and take him home. Each of them looked unnerved that a person- a man no less- had found their village, but their leader seemed to be okay with it.

"I'm sorry to have surprised you all, but this was the first village I found, so I figured it must be his home." Vanitas smiled at the sleeping prince who rested in Lulu's arms. "He was sleeping by a berry bush. Here is what he found, if you'd like them."

Another woman, Shelinda, took the basket before thanking him and helping Lulu to bring Ventus home to his guardians. They had been worried sick when they arrived home and not found him there. As the women left Vanitas and the elder alone, the two were finally able to speak.

"So, you were able to find our village after all?" The enrapturing women said, her voice having a hint of amusement.

"Of course, did you expect anything less? I almost thought I'd lose my charm in front of your little followers for a minute, though. Your little Gullwings are irritating." Vanitas lost his smile, his face returning to a dark smirk. "So, when can I come back and take that worthless brat, Yunalesca?"

"When Maleficent determines it is the right time, of course. After all, the prince needs a little more time." Yunalesca gave nothing away in her smile. "Though I do believe it will be Terra who takes him, not you. Her Excellency would not be pleased if she knew what you are planning. You are trying to defy fate, and that is not acceptable."

"Yeah, whatever, like you're one to talk." Vanitas sneered, turning his back to the woman before finishing with, "At least I'm not masquerading as a fairy when I'm nothing more than a nasty Lamia reject."

As he left her behind, he could hear her hiss and Vanitas could only image her true form beginning to show. With even the littlest bit of anger, her tongue would split and the ends of her hair become that of scales, revealing the snake within her. How she had been able to hide herself for so long was a mystery to him. It had been a part of why she was sent away from Maleficent's palace, after all, though he had never cared to remember the entire reason.

It took him only a flick of his wrist to return to his Queen's side, acting the part of her loyal follower. He had simply melted into the darkness and allowed it to take him home. Maleficent was not alone, however; Terra was by her side and the two were finishing an exchange of words. Vanitas hated seeing the two of them together, a mother and son scheming for her child's eventual take over. The Warrior of Darkness hated every moment of it. Terra hardly represented the darkness; only he could be the true heir to Maleficent's throne. Whereas Terra did not feel the need to destroy all traces of light he came across, Vanitas had been destroying all the light he could since he could wield his own blade. Why should he become King when there was only a limited amount of darkness within him? Just because he was the son of Maleficent, it did not make him the best.

In comparison, Vanitas had been born of pure darkness taken from the heart of another. No one knew where he had come from, but it was the only way someone as cruel as him could have been born.

When the room was finally clear, Vanitas made his presence known. He stepped forward to greet the Queen, falling to one knee and bowing his head. He could only await the day where others would greet him in a similar way.

"Mission complete. I returned the sleeping _beauty _to that village." Slowly he rose from his position, a look of apathy on his face.

"Good, my child, you have done most excellent." Maleficent said, playing with the orb on her scepter all the while. A green light swirled from within, casting an eerie light throughout the room. "Normally I'd send a lesser knight to do such work, but it seems they are all in-training for the upcoming invasion, and I mustn't disturb them. After all, soon enough you will be leading them into battle against the Light, once Terra takes the throne and our little prince's heart."

"Of course, my Queen, I understand completely. Will I also be the one to retrieve him from Yunalesca?" His hopes had raised a bit, waiting for a simple yes from her, and she did not fail him.

"Yes, I believe that will be your task. I believe I can trust you with delivering him to Terra atop the tower when the time comes." The Queen's eyes were filled with buried feelings of bitterness and hatred, "His mother may have been left to sleep in her own bed and be reawakened, but her son will not be so lucky. I will have his heart and nothing is going to stop me from destroying that wretched kingdom once and for all!"

* * *

**Thank you all so very much for all of your kind reviews. They drove me to continue on, though I am very sorry about how late this is! I didn't mean for it to take me a month, but work and school got in the way of writing. I hope you enjoy this character. It is filled to the brim with Final Fantasy X characters, so if you haven't played the game you should look them up. Lulu, Emma, Lucil, Shelinda, and Yunalesca are all FFX characters and are NOT original characters in this piece, nor do I own any of them.**

**Anyways, please review and hopefully I will get the next chapter out quickly. I'm definitely not dropping this. (:  
**


	4. important update  NOT ON HIATUS

hey there everyone.

i have decided to rework this piece before i continue on with it. however, i will NOT be posting my updates on .

instead, you can find me at http: / archiveofourown . org/ works/ 415134

on the off chance decides to mess with the url, you can go to my profile and i will be linking to my ao3 profile.

i hope you'll all go and follow it over there. i swear it will be ten times better this time- will 100% less ditching. (:

love you all ~


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